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The Importance of Adjusting Financial Plans to Account for Rising Medical Costs
Social Security’s race towards insolvency garners much of the news space these days, despite the quietly spoken likelihood that Congress will — eventually — step into the fray and address the problem. Unfortunately, six years is not a long time…
Payroll Tax Fraud and Its Potential for Impact on Your Benefits
When we think about scammers and fraudsters, we generally think about the direct contact between dishonest connivers and individual citizens. You know, the phone calls from crooks impersonating Social Security or IRS staffers, the AI-enabled voice-cloned phone call for help…
Weighing the Impact of Social Security Insolvency
Most folks realize that the rapidly approaching point of Social Security trust fund depletion would invoke a catastrophe for America’s seniors, plunging millions of them below federal poverty levels. The impact would blanket the entire beneficiary landscape, affecting some 70…
Commission Approach to Social Security Reform Back in the New…Again
Legislative efforts introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL12) earlier this week are profiled in a newsweek.com report by Suzanne Blake, Consumer & Social Trends reporter, with his proposal calling for creation of “…a commission to recommend sweeping reforms to prevent the…
An Oft-Overlooked Downside of Claiming at Age 62
Most folks considering claiming Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest possible age — 62 — are aware that their monthly payment will be reduced. They accept this in exchange for receiving benefits early and, hopefully, for a much greater…
Yes, COLA can have a downside desite being a positive number
Getting a Social Security adjustment each January is generally a positive sign for seniors, but some parts of the equation are less than ideal. Think taxes, which, despite the additional senior deduction for tax years 2025-2028, could impact higher-income filers.…
Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act of 2026 Outlined in Post
The Social Security Earnings Test severely limits early retirees’ ability to earn income without having their benefits reduced. Because of this provision, many older Americans are forced out of the workplace when they would otherwise continue contributing to payroll tax…
Fraud, Fraud, and More Fraud…Some Thoughts on Self-Protection
It’s a crazy world out there, and it’s getting crazier every day. Artificial Intelligence–the much ballyhooed AI destined to reshape this crazy world even further– isn’t helping. In fact, AI is making it worse in some areas, such as voice…
Tips on Verifying Personal Data Accuracy in SSA’s Records
It’s been stressed time and time again… the need to periodically review the information the Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains about you, your work, and your tax history. Mistakes do occur, and since this information is the fundamental part of…
Understanding the “Do Over” Options and Its Implications, Both Near-term and Long-Range
It often happens that a claimant elects to draw benefits at the earliest opportunity–age 62–and then sees a change in circumstances (or, perhaps, a realization of what the substantially reduced benefit might mean in later years) that causes second-guessing of…